บท 12: Chapter 12
Slowly rising like a vampire after a hundred-year nap, Atsumu felt like shit. The transgressions committed yesterday were fresh in his mind, the bright light, corpse, and screams bellowing inside his head, with Atsumu thinking that he was still hearing them.
Groggily standing up, Atsumu trudged his way toward the bathroom, bags under his eyes, feeling exhausted. Gengar entered the room, dragging the grunt whom Atsumu had replaced. Holding him up using psychic, she quickly put some of his comfortable clothes and placed his suit on the couch, before tucking the grunt into bed.
Sighing loudly, Atsumu stepped out of the bathroom, not looking any different than before except for the loss of the bags. Gengar floated towards him, as Atsumu used his finger to remove some of the gunk near his eyes.
"We are done here. " Atsumu muttered softly. Gengar grasped his shoulder, pulling him into the shadows, escaping from the base undetected.
...
The silence was eerily calming in Geoscenge town. Even with the bright sun, shining above, giving warmth to those who bask in it, Atsumu felt cold. With knowledge of the location where the ultimate weapon resides, directly beneath the town itself, Atsumu is conflicted. Inner conflict takes shape into one prominent decision, contact Lysandre.
Lysandre is the leader, and Lysandre is the one who wants to use the ultimate weapon after learning it from the book, Lysandre has a large influence in the league as well.
' If I do call him, how would I even join? ' Atsumu thought, ' The only plausible solution would be to join and destroy everything from the inside... but what do I say? '
"Atsumu!! " A familiar voice shouted to Atsumu. Atsumu raised his head, turning in the direction of the shout, his gaze landing on the form of Ash and Pikachu waving from a distance as they walked up to him.
" Sup. " Atsumu responded, raising his hand towards them.
" You're still here? Thought you'd be in Shalore city by now. " Ash said.
" Got sidetracked. " Atsumu dismissed with a shrug.
" Hey!! I know you! " yelled a blonde-haired woman, rolling towards the railing with her Lucario following behind her. Leaning on the rails she said to Atsumu, " Hey yo. Names Korrina. I'm the third gym leader, the gym leader of Shalore City. "
"That's nice. " Atsumu deadpanned, his blatant dismissal similar to a bucket of ice-cold water being dumped onto you.
"That's it... " Korrina questioned, sheepishly smiling yet her hand clenched in frustration.
" Atsumu Miya... " A stern voice said. Atsumu looked at the man, standing near Korrina, his long eyebrows in full display, clearly showing that he and Korrina were related, " It's a pleasure to meet you in person. My name is Gurkinn"
" Sup. I would introduce myself but you already know my name so... " Atsumu dragged out.
" Yes. It would be redundant, wouldn't it " Gurkinn said.
" My thoughts exactly. " Atsumu sighed. " So, what are you guys doing? "
" We're about to have a battle with Korrina and her new mega Lucario! " Ash said excitedly, " You should come to watch. "
" That okay? " Atsumu asked.
" I see no harm in it. " Gurkinn said.
" Heck yeah, you should! " Korrina yelled, oddly enthusiastic about wanting Atsumu to watch the battle. Atsumu nodded, standing up to walk with the group to the center of town.
" I've watched both of your gym battles with Viola and Grant respectively. It's impressive how you managed to defeat both of their Megas with little effort. " Gurkinn praised.
" Thanks. " Atsumu responded.
" Hey Atsumu, you okay? " Ash asked, looking at Atsumu.
" Not really no. " Atsumu admitted, " Sorry, I don't have much interest at the moment. "
" Didn't expect him to admit it. " Serena whispered in the back, Clemont and Bonnie nodding their heads in agreement.
" Well, you'll be fine, right after you watch me fight with my new mega. " Korrina exclaimed.
" What does she by new mega? " Atsumu asked, walking beside Gurkinn.
" Oh... I made her undergo a trial a day ago. She completed it and earned the mega stone for her Lucario. " Gurkinn explained.
" You didn't allow her to have a mega till now? " Atsumu asked.
" She wasn't ready. " Gurkinn responded.
...
" Alright! It's finally time. " Korrina said, fidgeting with her glove containing her keystone. The gang stood in the center of town, in between the three stones, a small area where the battle will occur.
" Alright, Pikachu. Let's just enjoy ourselves. " Ash said in a relaxed manner, Pikachu happily agreeing.
' Well... at least they are excited. ' Atsumu thought, standing next to Gurkinn, who was about to start the match before being interrupted by a hungry shadow marshmallow. Marshadow jumped out of his Pokeball, the familiar sound of a pokemon being released from a Pokeball gaining the attention of everyone in the vicinity.
Gurkinn was shocked, recognizing the pokemon grabbing ATsumu's pantleg with his hand while the others stared in awe and wonder.
' I'm hungry. ' Marshadow said, tugging Atsumu's pant leg. Atsumu looked down towards Marshadow, bent down, and patted his head, before taking out a box of cookies. Atsumu opened them and handed them to Marshadow, whose eyes gleamed at the delicious treats he's eaten many times.
" Awe. He's so cute! " Serena squealed, bonnie aggressively shaking her head in agreement upon seeing Marshadows blissful face when munching on his cookies. Sniffing the air, Pikachu, Lucario, and Dedenne went over to talk to Marshadow. Marshadow sensing them coming, looked at them but continued to munch on his snack.
' You guys want some, don't you? 'Marshadow inquired.
' Yeah. ' Pikachu admitted sheepishly, ' They just smell good though. '
' Indeed. If they smell this good, I can only imagine their taste. ' Lucario said,
' Can we please have one?! ' Dedenne begged.
' Sure. ' Marshadow said, taking three cookies and giving one to each.
' Thank you. ' Pikachu said.
' You have my sincerest gratitude. ' Lucario thanked.
Dedenne couldn't help himself and stuffed his face immediately followed by Pikachu and Lucario taking bites of their own. Their ears perked up, while their eyes widened in surprise and shock, staring at the treat in their paws.
' This is so good!! ' Pikachu squealed, Lucario humming in agreement.
' Can I have another? ' Dedenne asked.
' No. ' Marshadow denied, before resuming his snack break.
" Where... No, how did you get Marshadow?! " Gurkinn asked, once he regained his bearings. His comment gained the attention of the gang looking at Gurkinn in confusion.
" What's so special about that pokemon grandpa? " Korrina asked.
" Marshadow is a legendary pokemon! " Gurkinn said, still looking at Atsumu who merely looked at him with the same interest as ever.
" Legendary!! That is a legendary pokemon!? " Korrina yelled, pointing at Marshadow, before turning to her grandfather and then to Atsumu.
" Awesome. " Ash muttered, a smile on his face.
" How did you get one? " Gurkinn inquired, looking at Atsumu. Atsumu and Marshadow glanced at each other before looking at Gurkinn.
" He got hungry and found our camp during my journey in Alola. Didn't feel like leaving, so i caught him. " Atsumu revealed.
"That's... it? " Gurkinn muttered, glancing at Marshadow who bobbed his head in agreement while finishing his last cookie. He grabbed Atsumu's pant leg and showed him the empty box. Atsumu took the box, closed the lid, and placed it back before giving Marshadow a bottle of water.
" Yep. That's pretty much what happened. " Atsumu said, nonchalantly. " Asked if he wanted to join, and he said yes, so I caught him. "
" I see. " Gurkinn said, but in his head, ' This man caught a legendary just like that. Is that really what happened? '
" Well that's surprising, but can we get back to the main focus... " Korrina spoke out, pointing to her keystone, "I and Lucario are attempting mega evolution for the first time! We were supposed to battle. "
" Oh yeah. Sorry about that, got distracted. " Ash apologized.
' Atsumu even has a legendary on his team. What else has he done? ' Ash wondered, looking at Atsumu. ' How strong is he? '
"Now then... " Gurkinn said, taking a few breaths to calm himself from the shock he received and begin his role as the referee. " This is a one-on-one match. Pikachu vs Lucario. Begin. "
" Alright Lucario, it's finally time! " Korinna exclaimed, touching his keystone with her fingers. A bright light erupted from the stone directly proportional to Lucario's mega stone releasing its own light, turning into wisps of energy that connected together.
Bath in a bright, multicolored light, Lucario changed forms, revealed when the light disappeared from view, the visage of Mega Lucario entering everyone's retinas. Ash grinned, excitement bubbling inside his chest, Pikachu instinctively knew and felt the same way as his trainer. It may be a practice match but this will be fun.
" Pikachu, use thunderbolt. " Ash commanded.
" Lucario, counter with Bone Rush. " Korrina retaliated.
A thunderbolt was fired from Pikachu, heading straight toward Lucario who conjured a bone and whacked the Thunderbolt, dispelling it in one hit. Korrina smiled in amazement at the power Lucario held. Lucario himself felt in awe at the power coursing through his veins, but before she could give put a command and the thunderbolt fully disappeared, Pikachu appeared in front of Lucario.
Surprised by the sight, Lucario couldn't avoid the point-blank Thunderbolt Pikachu landed. Using the first Thunderbolt as bait, knowing it would get dispelled, Ash had Pikachu rush in with a quick attack at that moment and use a Thunderbolt, which would be unblockable.
" Iron tail! " Ash yelled, not giving a moment for Lucario to recover from the previous attack, Pikachu slammed its iron-hardened tail into Lucario's gut, launching it back towards Korrina's feet, sliding on the ground.
" Lucario! Are you okay? " Korrina asked.
' That was a great move. ' Atsumu thought, looking at Ash and Pikachu, a ghost of a smile on his lips. ' They are at a completely different level since last time. '
However, a foreboding feeling came from the other side of the field. Lucario slowly rose up, yet hunched over, a low growling sound coming from him. Pikachu tensed up, as did Ash. Gurkinn watched from the sidelines.
"Alright. " Korrina said, oblivious to Lucario's change, " Lucario use Power-up-punch. "
Lucario ignored her, standing still in front of her. Korrina not seeing Lucario attack Pikachu, turned her head towards him, staring at his hunched-over backside.
" Hey, Lucario. What gives? I said to use Power-up-punch. " Korrina said.
" We should call this off. " Ash said, suddenly.
" Huh! " Korrina exclaimed. " Why tell should we do that?! We were just getting started?! "
" Because something is wrong with Lucario. "Ash said, pointing at Lucario, completely serious, as Lucario started panting extremely quickly.
" What?! No. He's fine! There's nothing wrong with him! " Korrina said.
Suddenly, Lucario screamed, scaring Korrina as she fell to the ground, an ominous fury radiating from Lucario. Lucario rushed forward, appearing in front of Pikachu, faster than it could react to, only being able to look at the face of malice Lucario had, a power-up punch descending onto the yellow electric mouse.
Ash's eyes widened, too late to give a command, worried for Pikachu, but shocked as Lucario's punch was halted in its tracks, by none other than Marshadow with one hand. Everyone stared in surprise at the sudden interruption but was glad that Pikachu didn't take the hit.
Lucario roared, using a Power-up punch in his other hand to strike Marshadow. Marshadow pushed away the fist he caught with enough force to make Lucario stagger, missing the punch he threw, even if it was never going to be effective in the first place. Marshadow rushed forward, slamming its paw into Lucario's stomach, using Force palm, launching Lucario up into the air a few feet off the ground.
Lucario gasped for air, spitting out some saliva, but couldn't react as Marshadow made his next move, landing a solid punch into Lucario's face, and slamming him to the ground. Lucario's body bounced from the impact before he was kicked to the side by Marshadow.
Lucario flipped from hitting the ground, spinning while airborne, and then digging his hands and feet onto the floor to skid to a halt, his back hitting the stone behind him. He was breathing heavily, red eyes menacingly glowing, grit teeth, hands clenched ready to attack, but Marshadow was in control of the flow of the fight.
While Lucario was coming to a halt, Marshaow rapidly punched the ground near his feet, finishing in time to look at Lucario who was staring at him. Raising his hand, Marshadow beckoned him to come at him. Taking initiative, Lucario got ready to attack but was interrupted.
In front of his body, shadows swirled on the ground, and from their dark depths, sprouted copies of Marshaow's fist launched at Lucario. Like a group assault, Lucario was hit with a multitude of fists in rapid succession, and with his back against the wall, there was no escape from the attack.
Once the attack ended, Lucario dropped to his knees, his mega-evolved state disappearing returning him to his regular form, all before he fell to the ground, knocked out.
Shock isn't the best word to describe the emotion everyone was feeling, amazement fit better. The battle lasted for about a minute and it was a landslide victory for Marshadow. This was the power of a legendary pokemon, but they knew how powerful Marshadow is, was all due to the training he endured from his trainer.
Atsumu on the other hand started walking toward the downed Lucario. Gurkinn turned towards him, puzzled by the lack of reaction on Atsumu's face, asking, "What are you doing? "
" I'm going to need the mega stone for a bit. " Atsumu said, kneeling before taking Lucario's hand to remove the mega stone.
" Hey!! Get your hands off my Lucario's mega stone! " Korrina yelled, snapping out of her trance, caused by failure after watching Lucario lose control.
" Wait. " Gurkinn said, stopping his granddaughter.
" But grandpa... " Korrina said, but Gurkinn interrupted her, " Why do you need the mega stone? "
Atsumu didn't say a word, releasing Dusknoir from his Pokeball while telling Marshadow, " Make sure to keep a lookout, just in case. ", Marshadow nodded his head, "As for you all, just watch. I'll answer most of your questions at the end of the presentation. "
Atsumu took out his locket, opening it to reveal his keystone. Confusion was inside the mind of all the people around them, Gurkinn especially, since none of the pokemon he has released at the moment, can mega evolve...
Gurkinn's eyes widened, the familiar glow he could never forget of when a pokemon mega evolve came from Dusknoir, its shape changing into a towering behemoth of a pokemon. Chills ran down his spine from standing in close proximity to Dusknoir, who raised its hand over the mega stone, while Lucario finally decided to wake up, greeted by the scene in front of him.
Dusknoir's hand clenched something in one of its four arms, pulling it out from the mega stone, the blue glow taking shape into the form of a Lucario, shock on its face along with fear, looking at Dusknoir before he let go.
" Well, to make things go along quicker. Everyone, say hello to the soul of Lucario trapped inside the mega stone. " Atsumu announced, boringly.
" What!? " Gurkinn exclaimed, thinking, ' There was a soul in the mega-stone?! And you simply pulled it out with your mega Dusknoir!? '
"It's been... so long. "Lucario said telepathically, " The sun looks... just magnificent as ever. Thank you, for pulling me out. I was starting to lose hope of ever being able to see the world once again and simply fade into existence like the rest. "
" No problem but I do have some questions if you don't mind. " Atsumu stated, " How did you get inside the stone? "
" Yes... a fair question. " Lucario said, melancholy. " It was... a long time ago, I suppose. I lost track of time, being inside for so long. How got inside... well I'd say it was mostly my soul, my conscience that survived all this time, compared to the rest when all of us were... sacrificed.
They had captured many of us and one by one extracted our souls, pushing all of them into that very stone. The others... had lost their wills and slowly died out becoming nothing but pure aura to be used. "
" Wait... what? " Ash muttered. " You mean... that mega stone has the aura of multiple Lucario's stored inside. it wasn't made naturally? "
" Naturally? " Lucario said, hanging his head, low chuckles emanating from him, a burst of broken laughter bellowed fueled by the pain, misery, and despair he endured, coupled with the loneliness of it all.
" There was nothing natural about it," he said, tone dangerously low, eyes boring into Ash's, who stood there with a serious expression, not even flinching at the sudden move. " I watched as many of my own kind were slowly stripped of all life, before being stuffed into that stone, their screams still able to be heard and I was trapped with many of them inside. But they did have the strength to go on. After time passed by, I saw them slowly die out, till I was the only one left. "
Originally planning to offer his condolences, but finding that to be redundant, Ash could only say, " I... That's unfortunate. "
" He... It really was. " Lucario chuckled, finding it to be... a could summarization of everything that happened, after all this time.
" Thank you, for freeing me. I'm glad that in my final moments... I at least get to see the sun once again. I have missed its warmth. " Lucario stated his ethereal blue form, slowly turning into balls of blue light, floating away and disappearing right after.
" Hey, Atsumu... " Ash started.
" What the fuck just happened!? " Gurkinn yelled, grabbing Atsumu by the shirt, and squaring up against him, eyes full of panic, sweat dripping from his body in waves.
" Grandpa... " Korrina muttered, surprised by the behavior of her grandfather.
" What does he mean they were sacrificed and put into the stones!? Mega stones were found centuries ago, the first one being for Lucario. The stone was found by chance, they are a natural phenomenon! There... " Gurkin ranted but was interrupted by Atsumu, slapping him with his right hand.
" Calm down. " Atsumu said, his mood returning to neutral, the same mood he had before the match. " I'll explain, but it will be long, so... "
Atsumu raised his left hand and slapped Gurkinn again, whose eyes mellowed out, staring at Atsumu.
" Don't interrupt me while I speak. "
____________________________________________________
Sup everyone.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it was really fun to make especially with the lore. Anyways, please do leave your thoughts about this chapter.
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Have a nice day.
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